Things Change
by AppleJax110
Summary: Another girl has found herself attracted to magic, and now she must help the mages in their journey and learn to control her new power and protect her new secrets.
1. Introductions

As the taxi rolled up to the reserve, the door flew open. A girl, about 14 years old, stepped out before the taxi had time to stop. She pulled her black denim backpack with the white stars out of the cab and took her wallet out, handing the driver $10. The car drove away as the girl walked through the gates into the reserve.

Skylar Avalon Bloom was the type of girl who sat alone at the lunch table at school and got good grades. She was smart, confident, and proud. She was not popular, and she was happy for it. The popular girls in her school were stuck up snobs who made fun of Skylar because she didn't like pink, never wore dresses or skirts, and hated makeup. She liked soccer and baseball, and always carried 2 books with her: the first was a diary that she would pull out at random times and sketch or write in. The other book was small, black, and leather-bound. It was a book of spells. She was shunned for carrying her spell book, because it showed, very clearly, that she believed in magic, and believed that she could control it. And that was exactly why she carried The Crystal Book of Spells, that never grew larger and yet was constantly filling with new pages.

Skylar loved magic, it was true, and studied her book every moment she got. But even more than magic, she loved animals and the possibility that some of them were magical. She was a junior caretaker at the zoo, and came to Ravenswood every day after school that she didn't have too much homework.

Skylar was a short girl, only about 4' 11". She had dark red hair that everyone thought was dyed. They were wrong. Her hair went to her shoulders and was cut jagged at the edges, black tipped. Her bangs touched her eyelashes. She had light skin and had 1 green eye and 1 black eye- another reason that she was not popular.

"Hi, Kara!" She waved as she saw the girl standing in front of Ravenswood manor. She normally she wouldn't hang out with Kara's type- popular and rich. But she seemed ok, so Skylar gave her a chance. "Um, the weathers good and warm today...You think maybe I could have that special tour? The one with all the big animals?" Kara looked up at the sky and sighed. "Alright. Come on, this way."

"Be careful, there might be some snakes hiding in the grass. Oh, and pythons- they love to hang from trees and slither down your back." Kara said in her scariest voice. She was trying to scare Skylar. She didn't get the reaction she was looking for. "Really? Cool." Skylar looked around her, watching for movement. Suddenly, they stopped as they saw a shadow on the forest floor. They both looked up. "An owl!" Skylar said, smiling. Kara held out her hand as the little bird landed. "This is Ariel. Say hi, Ariel." Skylar looked at the snowy owl patiently. "Hoo doo yoo doo." Skylar gaped at the bird. "That sounded like she was talking! It is a she, right?" Kara nodded. "Can I pet her?" Kara looked at the bird, who looked back. Sky swore she heard a small voice whisper "It's okay." Kara turned back to Sky. "Umm, ok, I guess." She held her arm out to Skylar. She held out her hand, slowly moving towards the attentive owl. After a few seconds, she was close enough and placed her hand gently on Ariel's head, stroking her. "Oh, her feathers are so soft!" Sky said, careful not to raise her voice and startle the beautiful creature. "She's beautiful. But I bet she wants to go, now, huh?" Ariel stared at Skylar with big, honest eyes, and then flew away. "Well, onto the next part of the tour." Kara said, walking away. Suddenly, they heard a large roar. "Cat. big cat. But I can't tell what type..." Skylar said. "Sounds like a lion or a leopard." "Let's see." Kara said dramatically, and the cat jumped towards them, roaring and sitting a large rock. "Oh, that's so awesome! Do you know if this one is a boy or girl?" Kara nodded. "We see her all the time. Her name is Lyra." Skylar held her hand up and wiggled her fingers in a wave. "Hi, Lyra." She stepped a bit closer to the majestic feline. 'She's gorgeous. Leopard?" She asked, and Kara nodded. "Maybe I can pet her," Kara said. "If we're both really quiet." She stepped forward a bit. Skylar watched in anticipation. The cat bent down, roaring loudly as Kara placed her hand on Lyra's neck. She started scratching. "See?" Skylar laughed. "Maybe, I could...?" Kara bit her lip. "I don't know... she's really wild." Skylar shrugged. i don't care. If she'll let me." The big cat straightened up and jumped off of her rock, stepping towards Skylar and stopping suddenly. Skylar stepped forward slowly and held out her hand, letting the cat sniff it. When the cat pulled back slowly, she placed her hand behind Lyra's ear and scratched. Kara watched carefully. "All right, tour's over. Let's go." Skylar turned to her. "OK." They walked away towards the gate. "well, I guess I'll see you again sometime this week." Kara said, and Skylar nodded. "Definitely." Kara turned and walked away, and Sky headed for the gate- and turned when Kara was out of sight. "Now's my chance," she said, turning towards the sign that said "restricted." She wanted to know what was being kept a secret, and prayed it was animals that had been deemed too dangerous for the reserve. She walked over to the sign and slipped under the chain, walking down the path and looking around for animals.


	2. Finding the Magic

Skylar was speechless as she stepped into the huge clearing. She ran over to the pond and took her shoes off, rolling up her jeans and stepping into the pool. She wandered around grabbing at stones and inspecting them. None were worth keeping. "_Emily- Oh, you aren't emily!" _Skylar was certain she'd heard the words in her head, but they were so clear she turned anyway. She saw no humans. Just a an odd bird, unlike any she had ever seen. It was about as large as a hawk. It was red with golden feathers and black and white spots. It had a black crest on it's head, like a quail, and she swore she saw fire on it's tail, but when she blinked it was gone. She stood and stepped toward the creature. "_Ok. Now you are stepping towards me. I can't get bigger, because that might tip you off, but I might need to protect myself. I'm glad you cannot understand me." _"Are you... talking? Or am I going insane. Because last time I checked, animals can't talk." The bird stared at her. "_You hear me?"_ Skylar nodded. "Am I going insane." The bird shook it's head. "_If you can understand me, then you must be a mage. This will not bode well with the others_." Skylar stared at the bird. "A mage?" She pulled her magic book out of her backpack. She turned to the index. "Manticores, Magic at Base, Main skills.. No, nothing on mages! Animals, animals, animals... Ah, here we go!" She turned to the page indicated in the index and read a paragraph out loud. "Some humans have been said to be able to speak to animals. If you have a close bond with animals and carry a power stone, you may be blessed with this gift." She looked up. "What's a power stone?" She asked herself, then turned to the bird. "What are you?" She asked. _"I am a phoenix and a thunderbird._ _A halfbreed. My name is River." _Skylar stared. She flipped back to her index, then quickly turned pages again and read a passage.

_Phoenixes are strong and majestic birds. They can heal with their tears and can control, or even become, fire. A feather from a phoenixes crest can give the bearer the ability to control fire. _She turned pages again, reading a passage on Thunderbirds._ These birds come in many sizes, as one of their abilities is to change their size at will. They are very strong and get their name for their ability to cause rainstorms. They get energy from wind, lightening, and rain, and can leave spells by clawing the subject of the spell. "_Wow." Skylar said as she finished reading. She looked to River. "you must be one heck of a bird." Her cheek feathers burned, immediately replaced by new ones. Sky guessed this was a blush. She turned the pages of her book again, and read another passage.

_Power stones are stones that can only be found if you are closely connected to the magical world. They will shine with power if held by the right person, and will help your magic flow evenly to give you more power over it._ Sklyar closed her book. "Wow... this is insane." She mumbled, and stepped back into the water, hoping for it to calm her down.

"Ow!" She jumped back as something under her foot shocked her. She looked through the water but saw nothing. When she looked again, she saw a small purple stone- amethyst, her birthstone, with red streaks of ruby through it and one large spot of white quartz. It was glowing dimly red. She picked it up and it shined more brightly. When she pulled it out of the water, she noticed it resembled a small sword. "Power stones shine with power if held by the right person," she quoted. Was this a power stone? Was she connected to the magical world? She turned to River, who was watching her. She was bigger now, larger than an eagle. "I'm Skylar." She said. "I just realized I didn't tell you my name, so... I'm Skylar." River bowed her head._ It is an honor. I see you've found your power stone. _She cocked her head to the side inquisitively._ We need to tell the others about you. Get on my back! _Skylar obeyed, jumping onto her new friend's back. _Hold on!_ She said, and they were off for Ravenswood Manor.


	3. Friends Help Us Get By

"She WHAT?" Adriane said, raising her voice. Emily put her hand on Adriane's shoulder to calm her down. Adriane closed her eyes and took deep breaths, then looked at River, who was now a little bigger than a pigeon. "_She understands me_." The little bird said._ "And she found a power stone."_ "What?" Kara said, rushing over to Sky. "Show me your stone!" She demanded, holding out her hand. Skylar took the stone from her backpack. It glowed red when she touched it, but, even though the room was bright, streaks of pure black darkness were running through the red glow. A small ferret came around. "She's already got a spirit animal, and she's already got a stone..." He cocked his head to the side and stared at the stone for a moment. "A dagger stone. It looks like a dagger. But Adriane is the Warrior." Ozzie said, confused. "Yet she has a wolf stone. I wonder what you are?" he said, looking to Skylar curiously. Skylar gaped at the talking ferret. "It's ok, he's not really a ferret. He's an elf. The fairimentals sent him to find us." Emily said. This was getting weirder and weirder. "Elves? Fairimentals?" Emily nodded. "It's weird, but you get used to it." River spoke up. "_She seems, to me, like a rebel. She is different from other humans, and does not abide to the social laws your society has created. Perhaps she is the Rebel, a fighter who knows how to bend rules and think creatively- she may save you in your quests."_ "That is insane." Emily said. "But It makes sense, and I like it." River crooned happily. _"oh, and by the way, I am not her animal. I was the first one she heard, it's true. But I feel no bond between the two of us."_ She turned to Skylar. _"I am sorry, Rebel. I hope you find and animal companion before long. They strengthen you." _She bowed, and Skylar nodded. It was weird, yeah, but she liked being able to understand animals. "so, do all animals talk?" She asked, and Emily shook her head. "Just the magical ones." Skylar nodded, understanding, and then got a text, calling her home. She said goodbye to her new friends and left the manor, clutching her stone tightly in her fist and thinking of what her animal might be.


End file.
